WASHINGTON (AP) – Just past the COVID-19 bill, the White House’s next big priority, President Joe Biden is amassing a massive $ 3 trillion in investment in infrastructure and household needs.
Biden sat down with Senate Democrats late Monday as Congress has already begun laying the groundwork with legislation to develop roads, hospitals and green energy systems as part of Biden’s pledge of “Build Back Better” campaign. Like the $ 1.9 trillion virus rescue plan enacted into law earlier this month, the new package would also include family-friendly policies, this time focusing on education and paid time off for family reasons.
The White House plans are still preliminary, with a combined $ 3 trillion in spending proposed to boost the economy and improve quality of life, according to a person familiar with the options pushing for anonymity to discuss private conversations.
While the goal is a two-pronged package, Democrats in Congress have expressed their willingness to do it only if they are blocked by Republicans.
“We have to get it done,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Prior to the virtual meeting with Biden at the Senators’ annual Monday night retreat.
Biden’s aid to the Democrats in the Senate is now coming under fire at the White House for dealing with the US-Mexico border. Migrant crosswalks are skyrocketing, with images of cramped warehouses posing a humanitarian and political dilemma for the government and its allies in Congress. The focus on infrastructure is shifting the focus back to priorities that may be more popular with Americans and may be twofold.
An infrastructure package would include about $ 1 trillion for roads, bridges, railways, electric vehicle charging stations, and the cellular network, among others. The aim would be to ease the transition to cleaner energy while improving economic competitiveness.
A second component includes investment in employees with free community college, universal kindergarten, and paid family leave.
No part of the proposal has been finalized and the final details of any expenses are subject to change.
The general price tag, first reported by The New York Times on Monday, has been circulating on Capitol Hill for weeks, since the beginning of Biden’s presidency. With the House and Senate under democratic control, the proposals are expected to receive support from all over Congress.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Democratic committee chairpersons earlier this month to work with their Republican counterparts to “develop a big, bold and transformational infrastructure package.”
Pelosi said the goal is to quickly build on the coronavirus rescue plan by developing an economic emergency plan to “help people in every zip code by creating high-paying jobs for the future.”
The government is positioning its priorities at a politically and fiscally sensitive time, having funded its $ 1.9 trillion support package entirely with debt. The Federal Reserve estimates that spending could push growth to 6.5% this year, and that additional spending would only put pressure on an economy that is already expected to warm.
Biden’s campaign suggested higher corporate taxes and increases for people earning more than $ 400,000 a year, reversing much of the 2017 tax cuts by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
A White House official said the president has been very clear about his agenda, even though details are only just beginning to surface. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.
On Monday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee debated a more than $ 300 billion measure to invest in drinking water, broadband and other priorities. On Thursday, Minister of Transport Pete Buttigieg will appear before the Committee for Transport and Infrastructure. Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will release a white paper reviewing foreign tax law as a way to pay for some of the expenditures.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell used his opening speech in the Senate on Monday to overturn the infrastructure proposal, warning it would only lead to tax increases and what he called “ left-wing politics. ”
“We hear that a so-called infrastructure proposal could come in the coming months that could in fact act as a Trojan horse for massive tax increases and other groundbreaking left-wing policies,” he said.
He derided the Democratic proposals as similar to the Green New Deal, a sweeping plan to tackle climate change that he said would cost “unbelievable amounts”.
Biden is expected to roll out his budget in the coming weeks as Congress continues the infrastructure package, which lawmakers have said could be ready by the summer.